This invention relates generally to data centers, and more particularly to efficient cooling of computing devices within a data center.
Heat removal is an important consideration in computer system and data center design. As the number of computing assets deployed in a data center increases, heat generated by electronic components in the computing assets during operation also increases. Because the reliability of computing assets used by the data center decreases if they operate at a high temperature over time, a portion of the data center's power is used for cooling electronics in the computing assets. However, as the number of computing assets included in a data center increases, a greater portion of the power consumed by the data center is used to cool electronics within the computing assets.
Conventionally, computing assets in a data center are individually equipped with cooling systems to dissipate heat produced during operation. Commonly, each server includes a fan for dissipating heat generated during operation. However, these internal fans generally consume about 10%-15% of the power used by the computing assets, and also produce heat during operation, limiting their effectiveness. Additionally, a room in the data center housing the computing assets may also be cooled using methods such as air conditioning, using additional power for cooling.